


Technically Techno

by sagansjagger



Series: Bad Dads Club [1]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Adrien is a good parent, Background Relationships, Bad Parent Gabriel Agreste, Bad Parenting, Feel-good, Fluff, Friendship, Good Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir, Married Life, background Adrienette - Freeform, good parent adrien agreste, good parenting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-30
Updated: 2020-05-30
Packaged: 2021-03-02 23:42:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,040
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24461485
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sagansjagger/pseuds/sagansjagger
Summary: “No,mydad is the worst,” Adrien said, laughing as his friend gobbled down his cheesecake. Adrien didn’t know how he and XY had hit it off so well, but the thirty-four-year-olds had become fast friends years before--after Adrien had told him his music sucked and XY had the good grace to laugh about it. Their get-togethers were one of the highlights of Adrien’s month.His music was still horrible, though. So, XY liked to argue, was his father.
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, XY & Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir
Series: Bad Dads Club [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1767334
Comments: 30
Kudos: 74





	Technically Techno

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Missnoodles](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Missnoodles/gifts).



> Based on an idea from my dear friend, Missnoodles. Thank you, Noodles, for all you do!

“No, _my_ dad is the worst,” Adrien said, laughing as his friend gobbled down his cheesecake. Adrien didn’t know how he and XY had hit it off so well, but the thirty-four-year-olds had become fast friends years before--after Adrien had told him his music sucked and XY had the good grace to laugh about it. Their get-togethers were one of the highlights of Adrien’s month.

His music was still horrible, though. So, XY liked to argue, was his father.

“No way! My dad totally sucked at parenting!” XY said, shaking his head. “He corrupted me for years, you know that.”

“Yes,” Adrien said, fixing the DJ with a toothy grin, “but my father was Hawkmoth.”

“Boooo,” said XY, whom Adrien used to like to call Mike back before XY had told him that his real name was Xavier. Both of them preferred XY after that. “You can’t pull the ‘my dad was a supervillain’ card again, man! We’re talking mundane evil, not supernatural.”

“I know,” Adrien said, cutting into his chocolate cake with his spoon and taking a bite. He chewed and swallowed. “But you get so pissy about it, I have to bring that up at least once to see your reaction. It’s hysterical.”

“Oh, shut _up_ ,” XY said, sulking around a bite of strawberries in sauce. “Seriously though, if we’re going on a competition of who’s the worst, my dad wins hands down. He had an entire empire built off my back, putting the money that came from them in a trust fund I couldn’t touch for any achievable reason.”

“So did mine, need I remind you,” Adrien said, highly amused. 

“Yeah, they both suck for that,” XY said, shaking his head. He pointed his fork at Adrien. “But mine actually made me think I was performing art.”

“Modeling can be an art,” Adrien said, shrugging. “Not mine, I was an awful model.”

“I’m sure you can agree that being the face of a brand is horrible.”

“Totally. That’s too much pressure for anyone, much less a teenager.”

“Yup,” XY said, popping the p. “And my dad, unlike yours, only cared about money. At least your dad had a goal that was adjacent to family.”

Adrien wilted. He pushed chocolate frosting around on his plate. “Please don’t remind me about that.”

XY started, and then laid a hand on the other man’s. “I’m sorry, Adrien, that was a low blow. I won’t bring it up again.”

“Thank you.”

“Anytime,” XY said, and took a sip of water. “So, anyway, mundane evil: what else did your dad do?”

Adrien rallied, taking another bite of cake. “Told me to stuff my emotions.”

“Oh, yeah, been there,” XY said, scoffing. “Classic Dadditude. Classic abuser tactic, too.”

Adrien chuckled. “Dadditude? That’s worse than my puns.”

“Chat had some pretty good ones,” XY said, eyes twinkling. 

During the confrontation with Hawkmoth, Chat Noir had been unmasked on live television, showing all of Paris just who their hero was. He almost lost Plagg that day. He almost lost Marinette. Ladybug’s identity, thankfully, still remained a secret, but as his wife liked to remind him, Chat Noir survived the embarrassment, and even thrived after the supervillain’s defeat.

“That’s the thing about Chat and Hawkmoth,” Adrien said, drinking his milk. He hated the taste of plain water. “Hawkmoth is the supernatural evil, which Chat was supposed to battle. I could deal with Hawkmoth’s awfulness because Chat was on a level playing field with him. Myself as Adrien, however, and my father…”

XY tilted his head. “Go on.”

“My father’s evil is mundane, like you said,” Adrien said, pursing his lips. “Myself as Adrien couldn’t deal with him because he was in a position of authority over me; I bent to his wishes up until the end. And he was part of a system I was told to rely on to have my best interest.”

XY whistled. “I think you nailed it,” he said. “And corrupting a minor, in both our dad’s cases, was just the icing on the cake.”

“Speaking of cake,” Adrien said, changing the topic, as this was starting to get uncomfortable for him, “this one is amazing. Where did you find this place?” 

“Oh, you know,” XY said, waving a hand. “Yelp reviews. How are Marinette and the kids?”

“Marinette’s great,” Adrien said, grinning. He reached into his pocket to pull out pictures of his kids. Pictures XY had already seen, but Adrien couldn’t help but show them off. “Emma is doing stellar in first grade. Hugo is finally sleeping in his own bed. And Louis is starting to crawl.”

XY took the pictures and pretended to fawn over them. “Crawling, really? Dang. They grow up so fast.”

“How’s your girlfriend?” Adrien asked delicately, taking the photos back. XY had just started dating again after his second divorce, and Adrien knew the topic was tough for him. XY wanted kids of his own, but could never leave the celebrity life and settle down.

“We broke up,” XY said, sighing. 

“I’m sorry to hear that,” Adrien said, reaching across the table to pat XY’s shoulder.

“It’s cool, man. I don’t want to talk about her,” XY said, lifting that shoulder in a half-shrug. “Anyway, the kids. I want to tell you something, Adrien. Something important.”

“Yes?”

“You’re a good dad.”

He stared at XY, stunned. Tears stung Adrien’s eyes. He wiped them away with his thumb. “Thanks,” he choked out.

“You really are,” XY said, focused entirely on imparting his truth. “You’re compassionate and attentive, and you’re clearly in love with your kids. And I’m not just saying that. You carry around hard copies of photos in your pocket. Who does that?”

Adrien laughed. “I’m an old fashioned dad, I guess.”

“But not traditional,” XY said, digging into his graham cracker crust. “You’re not making _his_ mistakes. You’re doing everything he didn’t. I can’t tell you how proud of you I am for breaking the cycle.”

Adrien was tempted to bury his face in his hand. He didn’t, only smiled at his friend. “Thanks, XY. That means a lot to me.”

“Anytime, man. Anytime,” XY said, grinning. “When I have kids, be sure to give me tips, all right?”

Adrien chuckled. “Will do.”

**Author's Note:**

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> 
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